Cardio Goth

I've been investigating this and have decided to swap out my current 2.4s for Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge 2.2s. I don't think that they're particularly good MTB tyres, but they're apparently very fast rolling - see Bikepacking.com's review and road.cc's review

Well, yeah, that goes without saying..

I'm in violent agreement with you on this @Jewbacca, I own, and ride very often, two gravel bikes - one set up for 'all road' and touring with 38mm Pathfinders, and one for races / chunkier gravel (with a Lauf fork and 42mm Rhombus tyres) - as well as a hard tail. Their use cases overlap and yes, I could probably replace them with one bike, but I like having the options, and I like over- and under-biking sometimes. For some context, I'm doing a 3 day, 500km bikepacking trip next weekend, about 50% smooth gravel and 50% paved - I will use my 'all road' bike for it. Three weeks later, I'm doing a 4 day bikepacking race, and I will use my hardtail. I'll be overbiked, but comfy AF. A month after that, I'm doing a one day gravel race that is almost entirely on gravel, some of it pretty chunky, and for that I will use my other gravel bike. I've ridden them all enough to know what they're best at, and I love that I get to nerd out about it sometimes.

Except for the bike in position #2, you mean? 😃

When it comes to motivation, having an option at home is best if that's most convenient to you. I've trained for big days and weeks out using nothing but a Concept2 bike erg because that's what I have at home and it's convenient during a European winter and even when I have to go to the office, it's easy to fit a 60 min Zwift session in at 5am. But then again, I enjoy suffering and I don't like people, so..

It's freaking wet in Austria at the moment - it's hard not to get excited about it as an ex-Capetonian, but it meant a 45 minute detour 5 hours into a ride today just to cross a small river and getting home looking like I'd lost a mud wrestling competition.

I'll try them next!

I tested out the SQLabs Inner Bar Ends today on a flat 150+km mixed gravel/path route today - they were pretty good. I managed to maintain a decent pace (for me) and really appreciated the comfort that they offered. They didn't offer as many different positions as the Confucius bar, but they weigh a lot less, so they make for a compelling alternative. I found that they were a very intuitive and natural go-to grip alternative on the flats or in headwinds. They also offer access to your brakes like you're riding on the hoods on drop bars, even if they're not as aero as the most aero grip option that the Confucius or Farr aero bar offer. Unfortunately, they're don't make your hardtail feel like a gravel bike, but hey..

Big day out trying to rack up gravel miles in prep for 96 Hours, featuring the saddest soccer field in the world in Slovakia and swans stopping play, but the mid-ride pizza in Bratislava was 🫶

I'm with you - I feel like I've figured out everything except my hands..

Based on user experience, yes. I think the Roam and 830 are close in terms of feature sets - in which case, I would say that the Wahoo will be much more intuitive. Given the choice between a Wahoo and a Garmin with the same features, I would pick a Wahoo any day, but that's not the case in terms of the top end models at the moment, unfortunately.

I can't compare the two specific devices but I have a Wahoo Element Bolt and a Garmin Edge 1040 - the Garmin is an awesome piece of tech with amazing features, but I find the Wahoo much more intuitive. That said, the Wahoo was my first bike computer so maybe I'm just more used to it.

I did a fair bit of research this European winter trying to figure out what works best and this is where I got to: Upper body: It's not cheap, but the Assos Mille GT Ultraz Winter Jacket EVO is the single best winter jacket out there and, paired with a thick merino base layer, will keep your upper body warm for 6 hours in -2 degrees and no sun. Previously my arms used to get really cold and start shaking, which is obviously not ideal, but this combo fixed that. Lower body: Rapha core winter bibs paired with a pair of thick merino socks (2 pairs if it's properly cold). Head: Buff plus ear warmers. I prefer a Buff because I find you still need to wear sunglasses and a Buff allows you to prevent them fogging up. Gloves: Proper winter gloves plus thermal or merino inners. My hands still suffer the most, but double layers are a must.

Still not sure which bike I'm going to do 96 Hours on, but I'm feeling a little more prepared.. (and no, I don't want to talk about how expensive Rene Herse tyres are..)

Without derailing this thread too much, it was epic. It was my first race and a really big, hard day out for me, but the scenery and the vibe meant it wasn't a suffer fest. There's a good reason it sells out - it's something else.

Some observations from personal experience: A gravel bike with 38 - 45mm tyres on a mixed surface ride (tar & smooth-ish gravel) will be faster and less effort than a hardtail any day. I did The Rift race, which was 90% gravel, some of it chunky, with plenty of minor corrugations, and a gravel bike was perfect for it. On flat tar or smoothish gravel, a gravel bike is a lot faster than a hardtail. Once the surface starts getting chunkier or looser, gravel bikes stop inspiring confidence, for me at least, and start slowing down, especially when descending. In these circumstances, a hard tail will likely be faster and will definitely be more comfortable and reassuring. I have a route near my house that I ride quite regularly and some of the sections are chunky and loose - I've ridden it on a gravel bike and a hardtail, and every time I ride those sections on a gravel bike I wish I was on a hardtail, but I'm faster over the whole route on a gravel bike. For bikepacking, I'm leaning towards using a hardtail unless the surfaces are really predictable - a fully loaded gravel bike on chunky or corrugated terrain is uncomfortable and slow, and mountain bike gearing makes climbing with a loaded bike that much easier. I'm not sure you'll be faster, in fact you probably won't, but you'll be more comfortable. I'm doing the Rad Race 96 Hours next month and although it's a gravel race, I'm going to do it on a hardtail with 2.2" tyres, rather than my gravel bike for the reasons above - I've debated this choice endlessly but that's my reasoning.

I bought a Sonder Confucius bar (https://eu.alpkit.com/products/sonder-confucius) and a set of SQLabs Inner Bar Ends and am going to test both (not together) over the next few weeks. I did a relatively flat, windy 110km ride over the weekend, mainly on gravel, and the different grip options the Confucius bar offered really made a difference, plus it also adds more mounting points for lights etc, but it does add weight. I haven't tried the SQLabs Inner Bar Ends yet, but they are very light and I've heard a lot of good things about them. I'll try them this weekend.

First 100km ride of 2023 in the books, and first 100km ride on an MTB. Perfect weather and a good solo day out.

I think I'm on the same page as you, to be honest, but another part of my thinking is around preparing for sub-optimal situations - you don't always have access to X grams carbs an hour, or Maurten only or whatever. If you can ready yourself for that during training, even if you're consciously acknowledging that there will be a performance hit at the time, you are both physiologically and psychologically better equipped to deal with sub-optimal situations, rather than stressing out or bonking 90 minutes into a ride because you forgot your Clif Bloks at home. But that's just my way of thinking and it's not, as you say, the best solution for optimal fuelling.

Yeah, I totally get that, @Jewbacca, and I've seen what has happened when I've tried to push it a little too far. For me, even if it's not optimal, it does help me to feel more confident about long efforts where I may not be properly fueled for whatever reason. I'm also lucky that I can eat pretty much anything, at any point, on a long effort - I've never had any kind of gastric distress mid-effort - so my gut probably makes up for my ignorance and poor decision-making.

One point that hasn't, I don't think, been mentioned is that your gut and your response to different types of food can be trained. I train and ride fasted a fair amount because that's what I've been doing for years. Occasionally I'll go for a long ride and not eat until 2 or 3 pm. It's rare that I will have a gel or something like that when I'm on the IDT, fasted or not, but it does happen, normally if I'm training in the afternoon. I have the same two gels and Clif Bloks that I've been taking on rides and not eating for the last 3 months - this isn't some kind of self-discipline or anything like that, I'm just used to not eating on rides under 3 hours because that's what I've unwittingly trained myself to do. Don't overthink it, listen to your body.

Assos are the gold standard - the MILLE GT Ultraz winter jacket is the warmest I've ever tried. I managed an 8 hour ride in mid-winter, mostly in the shade, where temps didn't go above -2c for the entire ride. I wore it with a thin baselayer and didn't feel any kind of discomfort on my upper body for the entire ride (my hands and face felt otherwise). That said, it's probably overkill for Cape Town, and it's ####ing expensive. A really good option is the MAAP Force Pro LS - I bought it for not very much on sale, and it's excellent for rides between 5 and 10 degrees. A lot of the smaller brands like MAAP tend to refresh their lines every season, so you can find them on special at the end of the season.

I shouldn't be allowed near e-commerce sites after I've had a few beers..

Found a 2km long flow trail 10kms ride from my front door and put my new dropper post to the test, not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

I think this could be appealing to gravel riders and bikepackers who like the maintainability (assuming this is as bomb-proof as it's supposed to be) of not having a front derailleur, but are used to riding 2x on the road. I really like the small gearing jumps of GRX 2x, but some additional range to get a loaded bike up a hill would be great sometimes - this might fill that gap.